Frauen-Zeitung [Women's Newspaper]

Frauen-Zeitung [Women's Newspaper] Begun in April,
1849, Louise Ott
o's Frauen-Zeitung was a direct
outgrowth of the 1848 revolution. It is a remarkable document for
a number of reasons. As the first journal in Germany to focus
primarily on social and political issues concerning women, it did
not at all resemble its belletristic and philanthropic
predecessors, which emphasized the prescribed gender role of
women and totally avoided any involvement with politics or any
confrontation with the patriarchy. In addition, the life span of
the Frauen-Ze
itung - it continued at least until
mid-1852 (and some claim until mid-1853) - not only
differentiated it from other liberal political journals edited by
German women in the 1840s (such as Louise Aston's Der
Freischärler, which managed nine issues, or Mathilde
Franziska Anneke's Frauenzeitung, which produced
only a single issue, or the far more radical Soziale
Reform, later re-named Wesen der Ehe, edited
by Louise Dittmar, which appeare
d only during a part of 1849),
but also showed how even in the face of a growing political
reaction Louise Otto still succeeded in circulating her liberal
ideas. Despite house searches, overt threats, and newly-passed
restrictive local laws (that forced her, for example, to move the
paper in 1851 from Grossenhain to Gera), Otto persisted, never
really compromising except when absolutely necessary.

The journal appeared on a weekly basis, almost always on
Saturdays. Its length was consisten
tly eight pages. Although
Louise Otto was obviously responsible for the message and format,
she gained the assistance of a number of regular contributors who
supplied her with fiction, letters, poetry, book reviews, and
occasional articles. Otto's name as editor was prominently
displayed, but many of her contributors remained anonymous or
pseudonymous, indicating the perceived level of danger involved
in appearing in print in a liberal journal. An additional problem
was no doubt the clash between p
ublic role expectation and
personal perception of self that was apparent when women chose to
publish their writings. In the frequent anonymity of its
contributors, then, the journal, despite its brave stands,
represents a telling reminder of the limitations placed on
women's public actions in mid-19th-century Germany.

Although the Frauen-Zeitung has been re-discovered
(and in part even reprinted) in recent years, it has been less
the focus of scholarly investigation and far mo
re a valuable
source of cultural and social-historical information for scholars
in history and literature. Its contents presented a wide range of
topics that emphasized middle-class German women and their role
in the events surrounding the revolution. But in addition to the
supplying of information, there was an ideology presented that
was apparent throughout: in this journal, Louise Otto
essentially shaped the women's movement that was to emerge in
organized form in 1865, setting its priorities,
its demands, and
also its limits. The journal's major concerns and demands
centered on increased work and educational opportunities for
German women, as well as on broadened participation for women in
the public life of the hoped-for new regime.

At the same time, there was a clear division between these
demands and the maintenance of a proper role as women. In the
initial editorial, Louise Otto stressed the separation between
her position and that of the so-called "emancipated women," who
m
she viewed as mere caricatures of men, women who had abandoned
their gender roles and thus ended up looking ridiculous. This
moderate tone was maintained throughout: revolution, yes, but
evolution was preferable; expansion of the rights of women, yes,
but an equal emphasis on responsibilities. Louise Otto was no
separatist, no radical; her Frauen-Zeitung remained
firmly on the side of progressive change, but it was also
cautious in its suggestions and recommendations. Yet the mere
fa
ct that Otto's emphasis was on women's rights, an issue that
was discussed in public on only a very limited scale even in the
1840s, makes her journal's focus and its reasonably prolonged
existence remarkable.

There is little evidence on the extent to which the journal was
known, subscribed to, read. On the basis of the contributors and
Otto's own comments, the indication is that its popularity grew
and expanded as the years passed. Although many of the
contributors were totally obscure, b
etter-known writers also
supplied material, young revolutionaries like Louise Dittmar,
Hermann Semmig, and Benno Haberland, reformist educators like
Johanna Küstner and Karl Fröbel, the theologian and
founder of the German-Catholic Church Johannes Ronge, publicists
like Minna Zimmermann. But it is the anonymous writers, or those
who signed their contributions with first names or with initials,
that tended to characterize the Frauen-Zeitung best:
this was a journal that wishe
d to represent the voice of (middle-
class) German women, the majority of whom at mid-century tended
not to be public figures whose names would be recognized.

Although the journal retained its fiery motto, "I am recruiting
women for freedom's realm!" ["Dem Reich der Freiheit werb'
ich Bürgerinnen!"], once the Frauen-
Zeitung had to move its location to Gera in early 1851,
the exclamation mark was removed and the journal acquired a more
sedate descriptive subt
itle, "An organ for loftier female
interests" ["Ein Organ für die höheren
weiblichen Interessen"]. There was a further sign of
unsettling change: because of a new law in Saxony restricting
journal editorship to men, Louise Otto was no longer listed as
the editor, but rather as the person who founded and would
continue the journal under the editorship of the publisher in
Gera. Yet the expressions of liberal political sentiments
remained, if the number of anonymous contributo
rs grew. Strong
liberal opinions also tended to be more masked: thus Louise Otto
cloaked a message about women's longing for independence in a
fairy tale. Others selected allegory or historical fiction to
present their messages. Still others hid their editorializing
behind the benignity of a book review. In essence, however, the
general pattern of moderate protest presented in a variety of
forms remained consistent.

Except for a period of something over a month (mid-December 1850
to early
February 1851), the Frauen-Zeitung appeared
continuously at least until late June of 1852. The final extant
issue gave no indication that the journal might well have
concluded its run. Louise Otto was not to attempt another journal
until 1866 when, having founded the National Organization for
German Women in 1865, she began its official organ, New
Paths (Neue Bahnen), which she co-edited with Auguste
Schmidt until her death in 1895 (and which continued to appear
until 1919
). The later newspaper was, unlike the Frauen-
Zeitung, the voice of an organization; its tone was
studied, ordered, exact. It had little or none of the spontaneity
of the earlier journal; it represented a collective, increasingly
powerful voice, a specific viewpoint, a recognizable agenda. The
Frauen-Zeitung, on the other hand, presented the
voices of many individuals who were moving tentatively toward
common ground. They were diverse, struggling to find a variety of
ways
to express their excited responses to the political events
of the revolution; the contributors to the Neue
Bahnen were, in contrast, consistent, directed,
experienced, and considerably more knowledgeable.

The public role of German women in the 1848 revolution was
marginal, less expected than unique, remarkable by the oddity of
its presence. The Frauen-Zeitung best represented
that uniqueness, a mix of radical voices that seemed emboldened
by the times and could t
ell their stories or make their comments
in an analogous fashion to what the male revolutionaries were
doing, and the worried, cautious voices that were trapped by
gender role expectations, but that still refused to remain
silent. No consistent debate between these and other factions
emerged; the journal remained instead a colorful palette of
opinions and ideas and impressions, of women from the provinces
as well as the cities, probing into the issues that might well
end up uniting them.
Ruth
-Ellen B. Joeres